A Moment to Self-Reflect

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After three weeks or so of officially being a foreign teacher, I couldn't help but notice several gradual changes in my own personal demeanor. It was only after taking the time to self-reflect and contemplate about my current situation that I realized these apparent changes that are currently manifesting itself in my day-to-day behavior. The most noticeable change I have come to realize is my development of confidence in public speaking. I'm not saying that I haven't been confident in my speech before becoming a teacher, but merely stating the fact that I have noticed a significant improvement in my ability to become comfortable, composed, and poised in my speech. Hailing from Skidmore College where much of our learning took place through small and intimate classroom discussions, I always firmly believed in the importance of these discussions because of the emphasis it places on students to think through questions and ideas by way of active participation. Furthermore, classroom discussions primarily act as a forum for meaningful and intelligent discourse between the students and the professors. Skidmore College granted me plenty of opportunities for my voice to be heard among my peers and professors, and these opportunities gave me a greater sense of my ability to effectively and efficiently communicate with others through actively participating in classroom discussions. So it's not to say that I never thought I wasn't a strong and confident public speaker, conversationalist, or orator, but rather its an exploration of a young and maturing teacher like myself refining and redefining my verbal skill sets that I've been developing all along.

My friend Tim from back home mentioned that one of the reasons he couldn't envision himself being teacher is because he never thought he had anything worthwhile to say (although I would argue that Tim not only has the capacity to become a teacher, but moreover, I believe that if he ever stepped foot into such an art, he would transcend greatness and become an exceptional and profound teacher (A little over the top, superfluous, and grandiose but I firmly believe this to be evident and true)). But taking what he said at face value at that point in time, I couldn't help but fear that his perception would later become a self-realization for myself; What if I didn't have anything worthwhile to say? Eventually these fears waned and didn't pose as much as an obstacle as I initially thought. I came to conclusion that being a foreign teacher allows us to give our students a unique western perspective. As much as we can be objective in our teaching, and the material we present to the class, we actually give our students something that is more than valuable to them than cannot be read and learned from textbooks; we can impart our colorful experiences onto them, which in turn, provides for greater insight about our culture and our language.

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Photos

Statue at the Center of Campus
As the title states above, this is a picture of the center of campus statue

Around Campus
Bicycles, as you can imagine, are indeed the most popular means of conveyance.

Multi-tasking
The Chinese are good at multi-tasking. In this case, riding a bicycle while holding an umbrella

Bicycles
The most common bicycles around are old, rusted, and rickety. The reason behind this is that theft is a common occurance, so owning a cheap yet functioning bike gives someone less incentive to appropiate them.

Children Doing What They Do Best
Notice the partial symmetry of the kids actions. Looks like the boys on each end are operating on the same wave length.

Comments

[Mom]

What a great journal
Erich, you are such a colorful and creative writer!! I truly admire your skillful articulation of your personal experiences as you venture into your new project as a foreign teacher. I have learned so much about China as I have never seen before and I thank you for sharing that part of the world through your eyes and ears. Can't wait to see you next year!!! Love you, mom